Case Study: Politecnico di Milano advances nuclear decommissioning with Hexagon's real-time ADAMS-Simulink digital twin

Politecnico di Milano - Customer Case Study

Politecnico di Milano, a university, needed to improve the complex and hazardous process of decommissioning nuclear reactors that use radioactive graphite blocks. The challenges included high costs, safety risks, and a lack of complete digital documentation for the aging structures, which required innovative solutions for handling the brittle material. Hexagon, along with its ADAMS multibody dynamics software, was used to address this challenge by creating a digital twin to simulate and study the decommissioning process.

Hexagon's solution involved developing a real-time controller within the ADAMS and MATLAB/Simulink environment to operate a simulated robotic vacuum gripping system. This first-of-its-kind digital twin allowed operators to safely test and optimize the procedure for lifting graphite blocks, including using a joystick for interactive control. The results demonstrated a promising and effective algorithm for planning and supervising decommissioning tasks, which can lead to safer operations, better training for personnel, and more efficient project design.

Politecnico di Milano

Riccardo Chebac

Politecnico di Milano